In Re Oglesby

221 B.R. 515, 1998 WL 313324
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 12, 1998
Docket19-10726
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 221 B.R. 515 (In Re Oglesby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Oglesby, 221 B.R. 515, 1998 WL 313324 (Colo. 1998).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SIDNEY B. BROOKS, Bankruptcy Judge.

THIS MATTER came before the Court for hearing on April 15, 1998, on (1) Community Credit Company’s (“Community”) Objection to Confirmation of the Chapter 13 Plan of Debtors Louis and Pamela Oglesby, and (2) Fidelity Financial Services, Inc.’s (“Fidelity”) Objection to Confirmation of the Chapter 13 Plan of Debtors Michael and Nicole Jones. The Court, having reviewed the files and being advised in the premises, issues the following findings of fact, conclusions of law, and Orders.

I. ISSUES

These Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases and the objections to confirmation of their re *517 spective plans, require the Court to determine (1) the appropriate valuation of the collateral for “cram down” purposes in a case in which a Chapter 13 debtor proposes to retain an automobile for personal use, and (2) the appropriate interest rate or capitalization rate to be applied to the allowed secured claim of a creditor under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5) (B) (ii) for purposes of fixing “present value.” As discussed below, these two cases illustrate the continuing confusion in interpreting and applying applicable case law (Associates Commercial Corp. v. Rash, — U.S. —, 117 S.Ct. 1879, 138 L.Ed.2d 148 (1997)), and the persistent problems in estabhshing appropriate capitalization rates for fixing present value in “cram down” situations.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

1. In re Louis and Pamela Oglesby, Case No. 97-27482SBB

Louis and Pamela Oglesby filed a Voluntary Petition under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on November 24, 1997. Debtors’ Schedules include a claim by Community in the amount of $8,054.65, secured by a 1993 Chevrolet Lumina valued by Debtors at $7,700.00. Debtors’ Chapter 13 Plan proposes to reduce the secured claim of Community from $8,054.65 to $7,700.00, and to provide a 9% interest or capitalization rate. Community objected to confirmation of the Plan on two grounds. First, Community contends that Debtors have undervalued the automobile. Community asserts that the proper value of the automobile is the replacement value, which Community equates with retail value. Second, Community maintains that a 9% interest or capitalization rate is inadequate to provide Community with an amount equal to the present value of its claim as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5). Community contends that the appropriate capitalization rate should be based on Community’s current average rate of interest for similar loans in the region, which, according to the testimony at the hearing, would be 20.19%.

2. In re Michael and Nicole Jones, Case No. 97-27788SBB

Michael and Nicole Jones filed a Voluntary Petition under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on December 2,1997. Debtors’ Schedules include a claim by Fidelity secured by a 1994 Toyota Corolla. Although Fidelity initially objected to the Debtor’s valuation of the automobile, the parties resolved this objection prior to hearing by way of stipulation. The stipulated value of the automobile is less than the claim amount and Debtors propose to reduce the claim of Fidelity to the stipulated value and to provide 9% interest or capitalization on that claim. Fidelity maintains that a 9% capitalization or interest rate is inadequate to provide Fidelity with an amount equal to the present value of its claim as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5). Like Community, Fidelity contends that the appropriate capitalization rate should be based on Fidelity’s current average rate of interest for similar loans in the region, which, according to the testimony presented at the hearing, would be 21%.

III. DISCUSSION

1. Valuation

The first issue, pertaining only to the Oglesby case, requires this Court to determine how the valuation standard set forth by the Supreme Court in Associates Commercial Corp. v. Rash, — U.S. —, 117 S.Ct. 1879, 138 L.Ed.2d 148 (1997) should be applied. In Rash, the Supreme Court held that 11 U.S.C. § 506(a) requires bankruptcy courts to use the replacement-value standard to determine the value of property that a chapter 13 debtor elects to retain and use under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(5)(B). Id. at —, 117 S.Ct. at 1883. The Court explained that

[B]y replacement value, we mean the price a willing buyer in the debtor’s trade, business, or situation would pay a willing seller to obtain property of like age and condition.

Id. at —, n. 2, 117 S.Ct. at 1884, n. 2.

The Rash Court noted that there is a need for a simple rule of valuation in this context. The Court, however, by adding footnote six, made the valuation question more difficult. In footnote six, the Court stated:

*518 Our recognition that the replacement-value standard, not the foreclosure-value standard, governs in cram down cases leaves to bankruptcy courts, as triers of fact, identification of the best way of ascertaining replacement value on the basis of the evidence presented. Whether replacement value is the equivalent of retail value, wholesale value, or some other value will depend on the type of debtor and the nature of the property. We note, however, that replacement value, in this context, should not include certain items. For example, where the proper measure of the replacement value of a vehicle is its retail value, an adjustment to that value may be necessary: A creditor should not receive portions of the retad price, if any, that reflect the value of items the debtor does not receive when he retains his vehicle, items such as warranties, inventory storage, and reconditioning. Cf. 90 F.3d, at 1051-1052. Nor should the creditor gain from modifications to the property — e.g., the addition of accessories to a vehicle — to which a creditor’s lien would not extend under state law.

Id. at —, 117 S.Ct. at 1886.

The Oglesby case is a good example of the diverse positions parties assert whde using the same Rash replacement-valuation standard. Community asserts that under Rash, the appropriate valuation standard in a Chapter 13 cram down situation is the retad value. Debtors, on the other hand, contend that Rash dictates a valuation standard somewhere between wholesale and retad value.

Other courts that have attempted to apply the Rash valuation standard have also reached disparate results. In In re Younger, 216 B.R.

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Bluebook (online)
221 B.R. 515, 1998 WL 313324, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-oglesby-cob-1998.